No finishers for the Barkley, world's toughest ultramarathon

Nick Gracie, in black shirt at lower left, looks at a map with Brian Robinson, with yellow hat, as they traverse the course for the Barkley Marathon on Saturday, April 1, 2006 in Wartburg,Tenn. Todd Holmes, far right, and Jim Nelson, back left, follow. The Barkley is considered one of the toughest ultramarathons in the world.(AP Photo/Wade Payne) ORG XMIT: TNWP606 [Via MerlinFTP Drop](Photo: WADE PAYNE, ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Not a single runner finished the 2018 Barkley Marathon, renowned as the world's toughest ultramarathon. The 60-hour, 100-mile race runs through the woods, creeks and cliffs of the Cumberland Mountains in the shadow of the now-closed Brushy Mountain State Prison near Petros, Tenn.

Just 15 runners have finished the Barkley since it began in the 1980s. As of early Monday morning, the time had run out for anyone to complete the fifth of the 20-mile loops that make up the course, according to Keith Dunn, who live-blogs the race each year on Twitter.

"At 36 hours two runners are on loop three," Dunn tweeted. "Neither runner is eligible to continue to loop four."

A history of failure

The route loosely follows the path taken by James Earl Ray, convicted assassin of civil-rights icon Martin Luther King Jr., and five other convicts when they escaped from Brushy in June 1977. All were recaptured after a manhunt that lasted roughly three days.

Organizer Gary Cantrell said he got the idea for the race while hiking in the area near Frozen Head State Park. He figured he and friends could top the distance covered by the fugitives in about the same stretch of time.

James Earl Ray was captured on June 13, 1977, after he escaped from Brushy Mountain State Penitentiary.(Photo: KNS Archives)

Now in its 32nd year - or 33rd, Cantrell said he's never bothered to keep track - the once underground event has become an international sensation, drawing interest from TV producers, photographers and filmmakers. This year's entrants included 18 from overseas, including two from Japan and five from France.

"The quality of the runners this year was obvious because they failed faster," Cantrell said, according to one of Dunn's tweets.

A fall version covers a little less ground and raises money for charity.